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A Kazakh’s Torghut Collection


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Authors

Bulag, Uradyn E. 
Fuerwa, Dorjraa 

Abstract

In this video, the focus is on a Torghut horse saddle, and an iron pot discovered in a cave on Khatun Mountain, Hobogsair. The excavation was carried out by Oraalbeckh, a former Kazakh wrestler. Having heard about the existence of these items from herders, Orlaabekch, along with a friend, embarked on a mission to access the cave. They used several hundred metres of rope to lift themselves and successfully retrieved the horse saddle, an iron pot, and even two pairs of silver chopsticks with strange Manchu carvings from the cave. The iron pot, engraved with essential details such as 3kg weight and a few other numbers, is housed in Oraalbekh’s home serving as the container of sheep fat. The horse saddle, on the other hand, stripped of valuable stones and items, suffered significant damage during its extraction. Beyond these discoveries, Oraalbekh, leveraging his robust wrestler physique, also collected several balbals in Hobogsair. Notably, he erected one of them at the gate of a sheepfold for a Mongolian friend. However, it was thrown away by the Mongolian on the suggestion of a local lama who advised him to remove it from his home after his sheep kept dying with no apparent cause.

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Keywords

Kazakh wrestler, Horse Saddle, Iron Pot, Silver Chopstick

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Publisher

Kalmyk Cultural Heritage Documentation Project, University of Cambridge

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Sponsorship
Sponsored by Arcadia Fund, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin.